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The Week in Geek August 8-14: Distract Yourself from Potential Economic Turmoil

It's a bleak, bleak week in the US, Laser Orgians. With the economy taking a nose-dive and the threat of double-dip recession (which sounds more like JP Licks flavor of the month than a real thing but, woefully, it is the latter) it is time to distract our burdened minds with some good-old-fashioned escapism.

This Week in Geek will use movies and theatre to help you escape to a simpler time- be it the 60s, the 70s, medieval times (plus the 80s) or 1806 (plus the 90s.) If you prefer sobering reality of isolation of and stifling awkwardness that is modern social interaction, you could attempt the "brainy mixer" event. No matter how isolating and awkward, at least it's not speed dating.


All Week

[lyrical jams] National Poetry Slam @ All Over Boston All The Time
If we had included the full list of poetry slam events going on this week, this page would be infinitely long. This year, the National Poetry Slam is taking place in our fair city, so the festivities are aplenty and going down all over town, from Thursday through Saturday. Check out any of these events for the smooth and soulful, the touching and hilarious.

Monday 8.8

[class act] Breakfast at Tiffany's @ Regal Beagle 10pm

In a world where the trashiest celebrities get the most media attention, we can only fondly look back on the golden age of Hollywood, where the classy and the glamorous were one and the same. This event at Regal Beagle celebrates the classiest gal Hollywood has ever seen--Audrey Hepburn, of course--with a screening of Breakfast at Tiffany's and a tasting of their Holly Golightly cocktails.

Tuesday 8.9

[double feature] Cape Fear @ Brattle Theatre 3:30pm, 7:30pm

This week, the Brattle is screening two classic films scored by Bernard Hermann. The first of these is the 1962 original Cape Fear, a classic drama about violent revenge starring Gregory Peck. The next film is somewhat different in tone.
[double feature] On Dangerous Ground @ Brattle Theatre 5:30, 9:30pm
On Dangerous Ground is a forgotton gem of the melodramatic film-noir genre. Though critics were divided by it when it first came out, the musical talents of Bernard Hermann were uncontroversial and undeniable.

Wednesday 8.10

[MBTales]  T Plays III, presented by Mill 6 Collaborative Theatre

The MBTA has gotten more than a little artistic attention lately, has it not? Who would have thought that a somewhat-seedy, more-than-somewhat-unreliable form of public transportation would join the ranks of Yoko Ono and Edie Sedgwich as a great artistic muse? In any case, this weekend the Mill 6 Collaborative presents a series of short plays on the T in an interactive theatre extravaganza.

Thursday 8.11

[reading] Lev Grossman reads from The Magician King @ Brookline Booksmith 7pm

Lev Grossman's The Magicians has been described as "Harry Potter for grown-ups," which is convenient (because most Harry Potter fans are now grown-ups or almost there) but also does a bit of disservice to what is actually a great but sobering novel about magic and reality on its own. This month, Grossman releases the much-anticipated followup to his first great effort, and he returns home to Boston to read from and sign this next great book.

[theatre] Bad Habit Theatre Presents Arcadia @ Boston Center for the Arts 7:30pm

The Bad Habit Theatre group presents this adaptation of Arcadia, one of the most acclaimed plays by one of the most acclaimed playwrights of our time. It tells the story preteen math genius who lived in an English country house in the early 1800s, and the intellectuals who live there in the present day.

Friday 8.12

[nonawkward speed dating] Brains, Beers and Babes- Smart Socialization @ Meadhall, 6:30

While we cannot promise, as the website seems to imply, that this brainy mixer/alternative to speed dating will not be awkward, we can promise that there will be beer, which has been known to decrease perceptual awareness of anything awkward. We'll drink to that.

[film] Better Watch Out @ Harvard Film Archive 10pm
What happens when a scientist tries to get a telepathic blind woman to talk to a serial killer who is trapped in a coma? Director Monte Hellman attempts to answer that question in his slasher-with-a-twist-film, Better Watch Out. This month, the Harvard film archive is screening a whole crop of Hellman's best movies, and a complete list of them can be found through the link above.

[film + the undead] Army of Darkness @ Coolidge Corner Theatre 11:59pm Fri + Sat
Watch Ash take on medieval deadites in this classic tale of slaughter and laughter. The Coolidge Corner presents the third and final installation of Sam Raimi's much-loved Evil Dead trilogy as part of their @fter Midnight series.

Saturday 8.13

[food] Lebanese Music + Food Festival 12pm

Lebanese food? We're all ears. Backgammon tournament? Now we have to go. JP celebrates Lebanese heritage with its annual Lebanese Music and Food Festival by Our Lady of the Cedars of Lebanon. It's our only outdoor event this week, but totally worth going outside for.

[camp] Skatetown USA @ Brattle Theatre  9:30pm
This critically-panned, financially-flopping, unintentionally-hilarious film about rollar disco is screening this weekend at the Brattle. It stars Patrick Swayze on skates, and the chick who played Macia Brady in a slutty ensemble. It has been called a 70s microcosm, which may or may not be accurate, but it encapsulates the short-lived-fad within a short-lived-fad that was rollar disco. A later interview with Maureen McCormick reveals that everyone did coke on the set of the film, which might explain a whole lot.

Sunday 8.14

[food] Boston Food Swap @ Space with a Soul 2pm

Do you have an excess of homemade pickled beets you've been looking to get rid of? Then head down to the Boston Food Swap! Trade pickles and preserves, the foraged or what-have-you in this celebration of sustainability and deliciousness.

 

For more events, check out our geekified listings portal. If you've got any geek-related events you'd like us to post, contact us! Follow us on Twitter @LaserOrgy! Follow our RSS feed! Tell your friends!

 

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